PRESENTATION

Introduction to Presentations and their usages in Practical life.

Q. What is presentation?

Literally, presentation or oral presentation means the way in which something is presented. How ever as a communication skill, an oral presentation refers to speaking of a group of official gathering. It can also be a session of public speaking.

Q. What is the aim of Presentation?

The aim of presentation is to develop both the language skills and communication techniques of learners so that it can make the maximum impact.

Visual Aids:

Presentations are often accompanied by different types of visual aids to make them more effective. These are

i)     Flip chart Presentation – For NGOs, Military officers, Aid workers in affected area, News carters, Teachers, Doctor’s etc.

ii)    Overhead Projector Presentation for Teachers, BBA and MBA Students, Military Officers, Doctors etc.

iii)   Power Point Presentation for Teachers, Military Officers, Doctors etc.

Four Keys for a successful Presentation:

1) Timing

2) Attention

3) Personal approach

4) Practice

A well-planned and well-structured presentation can almost be ineffective because of bad delivery. The delivery phase can make or ruin a presentation. These four key factors will help you successfully deliver a presentation.

Timing

Timing is of crucial importance. The amount of time required for a given presentation should be determined in advance. Do not ramble or talk needlessly. Some questions during the presentation might be difficult to answer, and it is best to dispose of them politely, but quickly. Try to be in control. If you become diverted to a detailed answer, the time may just slip away and you may, suddenly find the audience looking at the clock. So Judge your timing by practice.

Attention

The level of audience’s attention during a presentation varies considerably. In general, the attention is high at the beginning of  the presentation, but tends to fall after 10 minutes. Therefore, it is important to highlight or repeat key ideas during a long presentation. Sometimes use some humour keeping relation to your topics. Never leave the audience at a low level of attention. The speaker must be conscious of the attention span concept, so that the presentation can be carefully managed. Try to end your talking in various ways, instead of simply saying “This is the end of my presentation, thank you.”

Personal Approach

Personal features of the speaker have a major impact on how the presentation is received. It contains four aspects:

i) Dress up

ii) Gesture

iii) Voice

iv) Eye contact &

v) Breathing

Dress up

While presenting something, you must wear formal dress, because formal dress will make you jolly and gentle.

Gesture

Gesture can be used to highlight points or to make additional emphasis when needed. However, do not repeat the same gesture for several times in a single presentation.

Body Language

Posture: stand up straight, feet tightly apart.

               One foot slightly in front of the other.

Gestures, such as use of hands, body movements, and facial expressions hold an  

                  audience’s attention.

Eye contact: tell your students to imagine they are a lighthouse, its beam

                      continually moving round the whole audience.

Hands: one palm holding the other hand is a relaxed, confident position

Physical mannerisms to avoid: playing with pens, pointers, or papers; jingling  

                                                     money in pockets; fiddling with hair; avoiding

                                                     eye contact. If your students want to learn more

                                                     about body language, suggest they watch TV  

                                                     without the sound.

                                          

Some body language to watch out for:

*     Mouth: if the audience start covering their mouths with their hands, it means they are not convinced or doubt what you are saying

-      stop and ask fro comments.

*     Arms and Legs: folded arm gestures and crossed legs can show disagreement-stop and use a check-up question.

*     Head: tilting heads + leaning forwards + hands moving to chins probably means you are getting your point across.

Following are some interpretations of body languages both of Speakers and Listeners:

Nonverbal Behaviour	Interpretation
Brisk (quick and energetic), erect walk (straight and standing up)	Confidence
Standing with hands on hips	Readiness, aggression
Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly	Boredom
Sitting, legs apart	Open, relaxed
Arms crossed on chest	Defensiveness
Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched (a feeling or guess that something might be true, when there is no proof)	Dejection (unhappy and disappointed)
Hand to cheek	Evaluation, thinking
Touching, slightly rubbing nose	Rejection, doubt, lying
Rubbing the eye	Doubt, disbelief
Hands clasped  behind back	Anger, frustration, apprehension
Locked ankles	Apprehension
Head resting in hand, eyes downcast	Boredom
Rubbing hands	Anticipation
Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed	Confidence, superiority
Open palm	Sincerity, openness
Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed	Negative evaluation
Tapping or drumming fingers	Impatience
Patting or fondling hair	Lack of self-confidence; insecurity
Tilted head	Interest
Stroking chin	Trying to make a decision
Looking down, face turned away	Disbelief
Biting nails	Insecurity, nervousness
Pulling or tugging at ear	Indecision

Voice

The voice is critical. The speaker should use sufficient volume to be heard. Modulation is also important. It is the process of varying the pitch or level of the voice. Speaking in a monotone manner or at the same level might put the audience to steep, it may be thing to listen to.

POINT TO REMEMBER

Voice training is quite complex and time consuming. Consequently, this unit concentrates on a few easily assimilated techniques. Here are some points you may wish to tell your students.

*     Projection: speak up so that the voice bounces off the back wall. This does not mean shutting.

*     Pauses: vary the speed and get the audience thinking about individual points. If your students have a problem pausing, tell them to count to three silently.

*     Pace: speed up to excite; slow down to emphasise.

*     Emphasize important words. Students can underline or highlight keywords in their notes.

Eye contact

Eye contact is the process of looking at the eyes of the audience as often as possible. You will gain trust, involvement and interest It is also important to face the audience, and not look too frequently at the screen. The smaller the size of audience, the more eye contact is needed.

Breathing

 Breathing is important to continue to talk in a loud voice. Breathing can also be used to generate a pause, and to emphasis an earlier discussed point.

NB: All these will be practiced by the teacher through vocal and physical exercise

Practice

You know practice makes a man perfect. So to achieve something perfectly, you must practice properly. Practice, practice and practice.........

N.B. For presentation correct pronunciation, enunciation, stress, clusters, pitch, modulation gesture, Gambits and so on must be needed.

Obstacles to effective Presentation

Effective presentation is a great “Art’. One cannot be a good presenter overnight. Presentation needs among other things, a good art of speaking, Patience and the guts to cope with obstacles. To present something every person faces some obstacles. Though these are varied man to man. The examined obstacles to effective presentation are given below:

Eight Obstacles to effective Presentation

i)      Nervousness

ii)     To Shiver

iii)    Stage fright

iv)    Hesitation and unnecessary stammering

v)     To gulf

vi)    To stumble

vii)   Tongue-tide situation (T.T.S)

viii) Feel dryness in that

How to Cope with the Obstacles

 Tips to cope with the Obstacles to effective Presentation

There are thirteen tips to cope with the obstacles to effective presentation. They are...

1) Remember the obstacles to speak in front of audience are common instincts of  human beings. It is nothing to do with incapacity or inability. Even the greatest presenter of today had once stumbled.

 2) Your nervousness, at the beginning, might appear to be great to you, but it is usually not visible to your audience. In fact in most of the cases they will not even notice the tremor in your voice and your pale face.

 3) Audience are generally sympathetic to a speaker, they are quite considerate and will forgive your honest unavoidable mistakes.

4) Start with a ringing cough and with a familiar statement to avoid stage fright.

 5) Use the simplest language and avoid verbiage.

6) Acclimatize yourself with the environment with a graceful look and a cheerful smile to the audience.

 7) Start slowly and then try to gather momentum.

 8) Compose yourself from the very beginning to overcome all types of obstacles.

 9) If you think you have stumbled at a point, don’t get panicked or nervous. Simply say, “I repeat that again” ….. And then repeat the whole thing emphatically. The audience will hardly observe your shortcomings in this stage.

10) Before the actual presentations, rehearse at least three times before a mirror or  friends to avoid unpleasant facial expression and other discrepancies.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

11) Check your art of speaking and body language.

12) Check out the physical facilities like stage, the lighting, sound system, your      distance from the audience etc. before starting presentation.

13) Stick to your focal points and action plan and observe the reaction and feedback of the audience.

After finishing this session, the teacher will call one after another to the dais to say about themselves and teacher will find out the faults and correct them.

 N.B.→

                                                                           

                                                                                 

SALIENT FEATURES (PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS) OF ORAL PRESENTATION

BACKGROUND:           (If you are presenting outside your organization)

(i)                       Who are you?

(ii)                    Which organization do you represent?

(iii)                   What is the mission of your organization?

(iv)                   How does it link up with the audience?

INTERODUCTION:

(i)      Introduce yourself and then your topic like the headlines in TV news.

(ii)    Convey the audience. What you have planned to tell them.

(iii)                               Name the person or people who is/are assisting you.

(iv)                                Name the visual aid you are using.

Beginning: The beginning may seem fairly easy, but many people forget to mention these points when they stand up in front of an audience because of nerves. This is why we emphasis these six points.

Making the beginning interesting is essential. Most people don’t spend enough time on trying to find one of the five things mentioned in the slide. Encourage your students to start with a bang and not a whimper.

METHODS AND RESULTS:

(i)      This will cover the entire subject or the topic of your presentation.

(ii)           This is the area where you will be using your visual aids to clarify, highlight and explain points.

(iii)       The pros and cons along with your plan may also be discussed here.

CONCLUSION, SUGGESTION AND SUMMATION:

(i)              What are your conclusions and what are your suggestions or ways to deal with the conclusions?

(ii)          What is your new action plan or future course of action after summing up the main points of your presentation?

Ending

POINTS TO REMEMBER

Here are some points you may want to tell your students:

*    The ending should be memorized so that the presenter has maximum impact.

*    Remind them never to rush through the ending as the audience remembers this part more than anything else.

*    They should include a summary before the conclusion.

*    Tell them to try to relate their interesting ending to the beginning. This wraps up the message needy and effectively.    

Here are some points you may want to tell your students:

*    The ending should be memorized so that the presenter has maximum impact.

*    Remind them never to rush through the ending as the audience remembers this part more than anything else.

*    They should include a summary before the conclusion.

*                                                 Tell them to try to relate their interesting ending to the beginning. This wraps up the message needy and effectively. 

QUESTIONS SESSION:

(i) Anticipate the questions that are likely to be asked by the audience.

(ii) Be prepared with supplementary information beforehand.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

Here are some points you will almost certainly need to emphasise to your students.

*    Tricky or nasty questions are rate, most questions are real questions asking for clarification or further information.

*    Questions help the presenter achieve his or her objectives.

*    The possibility to ask questions is a high point for most audiences.

*    questions during the presentation give feedback to the presenter, so it is good to take questions during the presentation as well as at the end.

*    The presenter should never put down or criticize a member of the audience.

*    Use the 80:20 rule for eye contact. When listening to a questioner, 80% to him or her. 20% to audience. When replying, 20% to questioner, 80% to audience.

STRATEGIES FOR ORAL PRESENTATION:

For a successful presentation a four pronged strategy is a must. These are Planning, Structure, Style and Interaction with audience.

PLANNING:

(i)                            Who are you speaking to? /Audience profile?

(ii)        Why are you speaking?

                           (iii)    What is the present student?

(iii)                             Are you relevant?

(iv)          Avoid being too monotonous or tedious.

(v)                          Be specific, precise and logical.

(vi)                        Don’t let the audience thank, you are showing off.

(vii)                         Try to b e a facilitator rather that a dictator.

STRUCTURE:

(i)           Convert information into meaning full message.

(ii)         Justify you ideas

(iii)       Start with simple points and then move to more complex things.

(iv)       Encourage the participation of the audience.

(v)         Use the visual sides smoothly and fictively

STYLE:

(i)             Avoid blabbering in pronunciation .

(ii)           Use hum our and depot a positive posture.

(iii)         Be a good performer without over acting.

(iv)        Use anecdotes move ideas and friendly gestures to create report with the audience.

(v)           Be careful and tactful about smooth transition.

INTERACTION:

(i)                     Ask relevant questions during the presentation to see if the audience has understood your message.

(ii)                   Your questions should sound friendly.

(iii)               Be enthusiastic in answering the questions of the audience.

(iv)                 Have a control on your temper and avoid situations that may require and apology.

(v)                   Don’t digress while answering questions.

Things to take for Presentation

Notes on index cards

Transparencies

Handouts

Pointer or thin pen

Cardboard mask

Clock or watch

Markers

Water

Laptop computer

Adapters

Extension cord

Things to check

Overhead projector:

*   on/off switch

*   focus

*   positioning room

*   spare bulb

*   small table for things

Lighting

Heating

Microphone

Sound system

Personal

*   Zips and buttons

*   take keys and coins our of pockets

*   take watch off

Here are some examples of purposes:

*    to inform the audience about the benefits of using a particular system for example the Internet

*    to tell the audience about new procedures

*    to persuade the audience to support a project

*    to persuade the audience to use our services

*    to sell our company to the audience

LANGUAGE PHRASES

Here is the essential language you need to present visuals. You don’t need to learn all of the phrases, but you should be able to use a few of them. This is so that you can vary what you say each time you show a visual during your presentation.

Using Visual Aids                                                More dramatic 

I’d like you to look at this..........                          Have a look at..........

Let me show you......                                            Look at.....

As you can se....                                                   I’ll let you read this one. ( pause)

Let’s have a look at.....

Let’s look at..........

If you look at the screen, you’ll see.......

This table / diagram / chart / slide show......

On the right /left you can see.......

Distracting talking habits

Foreign accent/regional dialect

Talking too softly

Poor grammar/mispronouncing words

High pitched voice

Talking too fast

Using erms. errs, ‘you knows’

Talking too loudly

Monotonous, boring voice

LANGUAGE PHRASES

Stressing a point

It is vital/essential/imperative that we......

We must ..........

Stretching vowels

These figures are extreeemely useful.

We are waaaay ahead of the competition.

Using adverbs

extremely        really

entirely            very

completely       quite

totally

Repeating words

Communication is vital. Without communication.   nothing is achieved. With little communication,  little is achieved.

Stressed auxiliaries

We can’t  and won’t  be able to accept the offer.

Finance is  the key.

Targets have  been reached over the last year.

Adding do, does or did

To implement an appraisal system, we do  need management support.

The economy does  need investment.

We did  work hard and the results show that.

LANGUAGE PHRASES

These are some of the most common phrases for ending a presentation. To make  sure your ending has the maximum impact, you should memories at least one phrase from each section.

Summing up

So, to sum up....

To summaries, .......

To recapitulate/recap......

Let me now sum up.

Concluding

Let me end by saying ......

I’d like to finish by emphasising ......

In conclusion I’d like to say ......

Finally, may I say .......

Making a recommendation

So, what I would suggest is that we.....

So, I would recommend that the ....

Handouts

I’II be distributing the handouts in a few moments.

The handouts are over by the door.

Copies of my transparencies/slides are on the table by the door.

Questions

If you have any questions or comments, I’II be happy to answer them.

If there are any questions, I’II do my best to answer them.

Are there any more questions?

I’II be happy to answer any questions, but I’d like to hold the last few minutes for a summary.

If anyone has any questions or comments to start us off.....

Closing

Thank you for your attention/time.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you very much

Thank you.

LANGUAGE PHRASES

Paraphrasing the question

If I’ve understood your question correctly, you’re saying ......

So, what you’re asking is ......

Well, the question is ......Is that right?

Let me just check that I’ve understood your question. You’re asking

Getting the questioner to rephrase

Sorry, I’m not quite with you. Could you repeat that?

I’m afraid I don’t quite see what you mean.

Postponing an answer

I’II be dealing with that a little later on, so if you don’t mind I’d rather answer that question then.

I’II be coming to that, so if you don’t mind I won’t answer your question straightaway. But I won’t forget.

Answering questions-by admitting ignorance

I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that one. Perhaps someone here can help as out?

I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to that, but what I will do is find out and send/give you an answer before the end of the week.

Answering questions – by saying you are not the right person to ask

I’m afraid that’s not my field, but I’m sure Mr/Ms/Mrs.......will be able to answer you.

I’m afraid I don’t have that information, but I can ask our ......... department to send you the details.

Coming back to the point      

Going back to what I was saying ........

As I was saying ..............

Rephrasing

Sorry, perhaps I’m not making myself clear. Let me put it another way.

What I was trying to say was......

Checking your answer

Is that OK?

Is that clearer now?

Does that answer your question?

Ending

I think we have time for one more question ........

If there are no other questions, I’II finish there. Thank you very much.